Can I get a collective “Hallelujah!!”?

Yep, it’s that time of year again: back to school.

Now those of you who don’t have kids may not

care, but for those who do, it’s a pretty big day.

As much as we love them, it will be nice to get a break

from the frequent refrain of “Mom, I’m bored” that the

end of summer often brings. And it will be good to see

them get back into a routine.

My son heads back today, even though it may seem awfully

early to you. (It does to me, too.) But that “first day” will be here

for everyone else before you know it.

Here’s a look at scents that might work for several

back-to-class scenarios:

For the mom or dad for whom summer has gone on justa little too long: By Kilian’s Sweet Redemption (sweet relief,

perhaps?) or even A Taste of Heaven (of course you miss them,but ahh, that peace and quiet is nice, isn’t it?).

For those with little ones heading off for the first time:

Divine’s L’Infante or By Kilian’s Love and Tears (they were

just in diapers yesterday – how can they be in kindergartenalready?).

Oh, no! In all the excitement, they’ve left their lunchbox,

backpack, etc. at home and you’re already late for work:

Sacrebleu!

For dealing with diehard sleepyheads on that first morning,

i.e., “Go away, Mom, I was having the most wonderful …”

thump – head hitting the pillow again: Montale’s Sweet Oriental

Dream

When your daughter finally does get up, who will youencounter at the breakfast table: Miss Charming or

Lady Vengeance?

Let’s think positive and assume it’ll be Miss Charming.

To go with her carefully chosen outfit: Dior’s New Look 1947.

Speaking of teens, what else might they be packing: Encens et

Bubblegum, or, heaven forbid, Jasmin et Cigarettes.

And with that, ahem, more mature crowd, there’s not likely

to be much goodbye affection for the parental

units: Take comfort in Kiss Me Tender or Love Comes From Within.

When they come home that afternoon and you ask, “What did you do

at school today?”:  Jacomo Silences will get you prepped for the

noncommittal shrug and mumbled, “Nothing,” that might beforthcoming.

Helping your college-age son or daughter move into a dorm or

apartment? Heeley’s Menthe Fraiche to keep your cool

during the move-in madness. When tempers flare and things

get ugly: Step back with Vol de Nuit’s Evasion.

And when it’s all over and you’re heading home: Jubilation 25

with a spot of Champagne, Gin Fizz or Elixir of your choice.

OK, enough silliness. What scents remind you of back to school

or have you thinking ahead to fall? 

Yesssss!  It’s SUMMAH!

I know a lot of folks hate summer, hiding out in their AC until the first nip of autumn arrives.  Not Musette.  I love the whole ‘so hot you can’t move’, louche, laissez-faire feeling of a Midwestern summer, as the tomatoes ripen and the sunflowers hit shoulder-height and the blood runs just under the skin,instead of having to drop deep into your core, like it does in deep winter,  just to keep you alive.

On the hottest days I get mah Freak on.  Where others might long for cool citruses and vetivers, my soul cries out for Amouage Tribute Attar.  Hey, go big or go home!  Of course, the Amouage line is an Omani house (Royal, don’tchaknow) – and those folks know a thing or two about perfume in extreme heat.  Tribute Attar comes into full bloom right about the 90F mark.  That raspy smoke accord that can be somewhat distracting in cooler weather morphs into this ashes of roses tone and the rose oil melds into your skin and the whole thing becomes a silken,languid lounge on the pavillion, watching sunlight play on the splashing water in the fountain.  If they made a body cream of this attar I would have to kill myself.  Christopher, don’t do it, I beg of you! (okay…do it!  Just. Do. It.)

Carnal Flower.    This is another beauty that just blooms on hot summer days  but you know what?  In extreme heat the Body Butter (Beurre Exquise) is even mo’ bettah!  Something about the perfume goes a little scratchy in the summertime but that butter… yum!  It’s been reformulated so it doesn’t separate anymore – it’s a smooth slickery-slide of hot-flower goodness, with that beautiful stab of eucalyptus winding through it.  I am unrepentant about wearing it in high heat and you know what?  Folks seem to love it.  Either that or they’re too terrified to complain.  I wore it yesterday.  It was 96F.  Gorgeous!

Tom says:

We in Los Angeles are having out usual wild swings between chilly onshore flow and arid Santa Anas, with a week or so of humidity to make it interesting.  So my two summer faves have been from the vault:

Acqua di Parma (the original, whatever they’re calling it these days) is a go-to for summer weather.  A lovely citrus floral with a clean drydown that makes me feel crisp and fresh in the worst of summer.

The other that I’ve found myself reaching for is Montale Musk to Musk.  It’s light touch of spicy woods and warm oud that whispers.  I’m starting to run low on this one, it’s been in such heavy rotation.

From the lovely Ann:
For the never-ending heat wave that this summer is turning out to be, I’m dusting off something old and pulling out something new (well, not THAT new, but newish, at least to me).
With all the talk this spring of the royal wedding scent,
Illuminum’s White Gardenia Petals, several comments bubbled up about its resemblance to Prescriptives’ Calyx. I loved the heck out of Calyx in the late ’80s but over the years sort of forgot about it. So when I sniffed the Illuminum, I definitely thought it could be Calyx’s quieter, more reserved younger sister. And although I liked the WGP a lot (but not enough to fall full bottle for), it did serve to re-ignite my love for Calyx and I made haste to get some in my hot little hands.
My second summer love is Le Labo’s Tubereuse 40. As others have said before, it really is sunshine in a bottle. There’s just something about it that tickles my nose, my mood and my fancy. It makes me happy, and, silly as it might sound, near-giddy. And all with nary a prescription drug in sight. Now if it weren’t for that hefty price tag and that pesky NYC exclusivity business, this baby would be mine in a heartbeat.

From Patty:

I am the most boring favorite summer scent person in the world.  I pick the same things over and over.  Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan, Rose Ikebana, along with Rosine’s Zeste d’Rose and Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin. The last one used to not be on my list, even though I’ve had it in my drawer for years. I finally noted it was in a Top Ten List from Perfumes: The Guide, so I tried it, and it’s really pretty freaking great.

From Nava:

Patty thinks she’s boring; she’s got company. Another Rose Ikebana fan here, albeit there ain’t much left in the bottle; Philosophy’s Enternal Grace has replaced Pure Grace this summer, because…I know, I know, you’re sick and tired of hearing about it. And bringing up the rear is Fresh Brown Sugar. That’s all I can tolerate; it’s been a freakin’ scorcher here in the Great White North!

photo: DBsDesigns “pooling around”

for more Top Ten Summer picks check out  Now Smell This, Perfume Smellin’ Things, Bois de Jasmin & Grain de Musc.

Zeta Winners (March’s draw from last week) – drawn by the fickle finger of fate random.org — Suzanne M., Rappleyea, and Francesca!  (Francesca, congrats, have you ever won anything? Me neither.)  I’ll email you three.  If you didn’t win – Patty’s giving away four more on yesterday’s post.  Okay, here’s Tom.

by Tom

Commenting on my post on Tuesday about Christian Dior Leather Oud, Fernando wrote after being frustrated by Dior’s website and the clueless SA’s at the Boston Dior Boutique he was turning to the Montale.  I agree.  The earlier Montale has the same four notes (oud, tobacco, leather and woods) but the volume is turned up.

Smelled side-by-side with the Dior, Leather Oud seems wan and rather pinched, the cedar feeling more Faber than fabulous.  The Montale’s tobacco has the moist fattiness of the good stuff fresh from Dunhill, the leather full, rich and aniline dyed, the wood hand-polished and the oud is, well, oudier.  Writing that this is no way overpowering and in no way unfeminine.  Birkin bags are leather after all.

I do like the Dior mind you.  I like Montale’s earlier more full bodied take on the same four notes better.  Thanks Fernando for reminding me.

$150 for 50ML at the usual suspects, available easily online.  My sample is from my bottle.

photo: Lady Gaga with her scribbled-on Birkin Bag.  Oh, the Hermanity!  I think she raffled it off, or gave it to a fan or sent it to the moon or something….well, it’s hers to do with as she would but my heart is swimming in blood…

Who doesn’t love incense in fragrance?  Well, lots of people, I suppose, including those for whom it triggers less-than-happy religious associations.  I was spared all that in my innocent Lutheran childhood, where incense at church would have been (like an actual crucifix) a giant, uncomfortable leap away from Luther and lutefisk, in the general direction of the Catholics.  As a child I wanted desperately to be Catholic because in my less-than-perfect understanding of the nuances of various faiths, being Catholic would have guaranteed me four or eight siblings, pierced ears, and a wardrobe of much frillier dresses than my mother would ever tolerate.  But I digress.

For those of us who love our incense, Full Incense by Montale has been greeted with shouts of joy.  Montale isn’t exactly the house o’subtle, and if someone’s really going to blow your perfumed socks off, in terms of sheer volume, Montale’s a good bet.  Their Jasmin Full should come in a dabber bottle.  Anyhoodle, I’ve been toying with Full Incense for awhile, and here’s my review.  According to LuckyScent, the notes are very simple:  cedar, labdanum, patchouli, elemi, and Somali incense.

It’s still January, and will be January for several more months, I’m sure of it, and January’s a fine time to enjoy the cold smell of incense, infused as it often is with the feeling of a cold blast of the outdoors, maybe while cross-country skiing through the woods.  And like any interesting incense, Montale Full Incense sets its own distinctive course.  From its Pine-Sol top through its acrid-ammoniac middle, moving on to the bit that smells like chlorinated pool water, to the drydown that reminds me of peppered dirt, Full Incense is an epic fail on me.  I’ve worked through samples from three different sources, and the results are oddly (almost pleasingly!) consistent.  Naturally enough, since it smells hideous on me (and it’s Montale), it has the half-life of plutonium.

How perverse are the desires of the human heart?  I’ve enjoyed this experience — its consistent awfulness.  Is Full Incense terrible?  Of course not.  It’s probably great stuff.  It’s just terrible on me.  It’s lovely on Louise, for instance.  I laugh and shrug, content to let this one get away.  I’ll stick with the Armani Bois d’Encens or CdG Avignon when I want my “straightest” incense, and Lutens’ Fille en Aiguilles for something a bit more outdoorsy, or Via del Profumo’s Mecca Balsam when it’s time for more sweet resin….

… what about you?

March

Nothing, but nothing is catching my eye enough to write anything more than a sentence or two about it, so it’s time for just a general march of the perfumes:

Profumum Neroli — This is a pretty great Neroli perfume.  Light, effervescent on the open with some interesting long-lasting depth, while not losing that bubbly, beautiful open.  I love it, but what in the world is Profumum doing raising prices to $240 for 100 ml?!?!?  Last time I priced them, they were like 180-190, which was bad enough. This is ridiulcous.

Profumum Dambrosia — weird on the open, really figgy in the drydown, which lasted overnight. I woke up to the smell of figs on my hands, which was lovely.  Again, see complaint about Profumum above

Yvona K. Possessive — biiiiiiiig white floral on the open, but it turns into a really beautiful little soft white floral that’s charming.

Montale Aoud Red Flowers – this is one of my favorites of the Aoud flowers series. There’s a sweetness to it that distracts from the oud bitterness, like a blend between the sweeter Montales and the more bitter ouds.  Was this one renamed something else?  A really annoying Montale habit.

My new favorite incense?  You have to trust me on this because I try them all.   Fred Soll.  He’s got clumps of dried stuff on his incense sticks, all hand made, and it burns beautifully and for about 2-3 hours per stick, it sets of a great cloud of whatever flavor you’re burning.  You can get myrrh, incense, white sage, pinon, cinnamon, nag champa, etc. I came downstairs today after my run, and  it smelled like a wonderful cozy fire had been burning somewhere.  Gorgeous stuff.

Patty